Nicusor Dan:Romania is not sending troops to Ukraine

President Nicusor Dan stated on Thursday evening, invited at Antena1 TV, one hundred days since his installation at Cotroceni Palace (approximately 5% of the mandate included in the Constitution) that there are no discussions at present, at the level of the governing coalition or at the level of the government, connected to a new increase of the VAT quota. The head of state said again that it would be possible to avoid an increase of the VAT quota, but ‘ the government had other calculations’ and said that, probably, the package three of measures which is goind to be adopted by the government will aim at ‘ other categories of special pensions’ as well.   Nicusor Dan:   About the justice reform : - Prosecutors' mandates expire next spring, time for evaluations - To make a change, without needless flailing, you have to have the right moves. - I still say that the prosecutor's offices are inefficient, the courts are like this and like that, there's a lot of room for improvement. Are you afraid that the system could defeat you ? I had to deal with it as a mayor as well I could find bad parts which protect different interests I’ll try to get the good part in order to reform the country What kind of a president will Nicusor Dan be ? I tried to send the message to the foreign counterparts that Romania at present is serious when dealing with the deficit, when it commits to take part in this European defense effort, when it discusses with companies wanting to invest. I want to be a serious president Are you conservative, traditionalist? I think that's not the debate in society that has to be dominant. I confronted the AUR president in the second round and reproached him for being a populist, pro-Russian, inciting hatred in society If we want to go back to the line of demarcation we face between the progressives and the conservatives it is exactly what Putin wants from Romania I don't want to define myself one way or another About the nomination of the heads of intelligence services This is a sensitive discussion, the president proposes and the parliament approves or not - We are not in a situation where we are playing a game, I propose, Parliament rejects, that will not happen. The discussions are taking place in a restricted framework, away from the press, when there is a consensus I will announce There were discussions in the coalition. It is a discussion which is very friendly, no pressure. People with life experience, to be able to coordinate a lot of people, with political ability (politicians ?) No, preferably people in the society It's an ongoing discussion, that's all I can tell you at the moment What is the theme of Nicusor Dan's presidency? There are two. One is security, we have war at our borders. We should have the military situation and the partnerships where nobody would dare to attack us ever. The second is the economy. Romania has great economic potential but the state must succeed in partnership with the private sector to move towards a competitive advantage. About economic diplomacy : It is important to give an economic dimension to our foreign policy, something which has missed. We had diplomacy which was at good level but which was left behind in a kind of conservatism of what the diplomacy should be in a world which has changed I said we have no economic diplomacy, this is no reproach to the government We all, as a society, as administration we go round in the same circles It is necessary that the political should have a dialogue with the specialists to help us get into things at a deeper level About the visit to the US The invitation is present I want to have all things well prepared, to have clear information about the economic interests, to have discussions with the big American companies. When we have that, the discussion will be consistent. Very unlikely this year About sending troops to Ukraine Many countries in the vicinity of Russia have the same decisions with us, not to send troops to Ukraine after a possible cease of fire. We will support all operations for cease fire. There were several meetings at level of foreign affairs and defense ministers and each country said what they could contribute with to the security guarantees. I would really like the US were involved on the sanctions part as well, so that they could be very consistent.   About the parties in the governing coalition :   ? Legitimately, each party addresses itself to the public that gave it its mandate, and if we look at the PSD, it obviously wants more social measures, the PNL and USR want measures to stimulate economic development ?These are absolutely legitimate discussions About VAT increase There four or five weeks when we did the math I think we could have avoided it, the government had other plans Nobody talked about such a thing ( a new VAT increase) The package three we will probably talk about the other categories of special pensions About the pensions of the magistrates » CCR will have a decision, what I can say it that the moment the government came with the proposal, the people in the legal team analysed the previous CCR decisions so that they could avoid declaring the law unconstitutional Now, the Court will decide - I have seen different interpretations in the public space - I have said that it is not acceptable that in any field the pension is equal to the salary, you are encouraging people to retire - The retirement age is far too low, 48. - Where I put a nuance is that this transition from 48 to 65 should not be done abruptly. - Magistrates have really worked hard over the years. - The judge comes in, sits down, and half an hour earlier the clerk comes in with a supermarket trolley full of files. - That's a fact. - These people have been overworked all this time. - It's not healthy for democracy that people have this attitude towards magistrates. - We must have a balanced attitude. - A first government proposal said that with how many years you have left until retirement you should have five times as much, the magistrates would have wanted another half. I thought a year to a year was reasonable.   About the governing coalition and the relation with premier Bolojan This coalition is functional I have a fair relation (with the premier) It is important that in a period when Romania needs stability there is stability At present, the coalition has two months and a half of functioning, it is very likely that the second package of measures will pass What was decided on Monday is that we are going to have a reduction of 10% of the local personnel against the number of positions existing today,not compared to the organisation chart What is still under discussion is the way to have clear criteria for all localities This is the task of the minister for development and the minister for internal affairs. About the first hundred days of mandate I had a challenge with forming a stable government, that is what happened I had a challenge with the deficit and until now things have been under control Consistent foreign presence, with many reunions and bilateral reunions I think these were the objectives and they have been met